


The Innocent Can Never Last

by samiam711



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Blood and Injury, But still very dark, Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jason Todd Angst, Jason Todd-centric, Past Character Death, Suicidal Thoughts, Tim Drake Whump, oh god what have I done, rated for teens cause I don't go too into depth, read with caution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27641150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samiam711/pseuds/samiam711
Summary: This time Jason is a little madder, so he digs his knife in deeper. Everyone suffers.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne & Tim Drake, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, uh briefly
Comments: 5
Kudos: 67





	The Innocent Can Never Last

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place when Jason slits Tim's throat... and that's where it diverges from canon. Please read the tags and proceed with caution, I have created something very dark. However, I hope you enjoy it... *nervous laughter*
> 
> Title is from the song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day

For a brief second, as his knife moves, he remembers that first crushing blow of the crowbar. He feels it in his chest, too, as if it had happened mere moments ago. He thinks that he yelled. It had hurt, but that seemed like child’s play now. It held nothing to when the real pain began when he rested his gaze on the ticking timer and realized that Batman wasn’t going to save him this time.

_How does it make you feel? Knowing that you’ve failed again, Bruce?_

Bruce replaced him. As a partner. As a _son_. He deserves to feel this hurt ~~again~~. Maybe he’ll do something about it this time. Jason almost wishes he would. He’s not supposed to be alive anyway. The dead should stay dead, and all that _shit_. It will only prove what he’s believed all along: that Bruce didn’t really care for him at all.

And so as his blade leaves a trail of seeping red, and the rain beats down on them, he looks at Bruce dead in the eyes. He wants to see that pain and relish in it. He thinks that the horrified expression on his face is the most emotion he’s ever seen from him before. He drags the knife all the way through to the carotid artery and drops his replacement’s body on the ground in a heap. The Dark Knight himself collapses to his knees beside his Robin. He desperately grasps at his shoulders, pulling at him and turning him over. A few quiet gurgles leave the replacement's mouth before they fade into silence. Drake’s eyes are unfocused and blood covers his front extensively.

The old Jason Todd, the Second Robin, would have been beside himself, horrified even, to have seen a death like this. He’s not that Jason anymore. That version of him died the moment he went to the warehouse. A strange sense of pride enters him. It whispers, _look at how far you’ve come_! _Look at what you’ve done_.

“ ** _What have you done?_** ” The Batman growls. It’s angry and broken. God, he thinks that Bruce might be crying. It’s perfect.

“I’ve shown you the truth! No matter what you do, no matter who you save, no matter who you throw in jail, it’s always going to lead to _this_. You can’t do what needs to be done! _These_ are the consequences,” he spits. His voice is thunderous and rough, bordering on the line of hysterical.

“How can you possibly— what do think this has accomplished, Jason? You killed him. _You killed him_. Why would you kill him?”

“YOU REPLACED ME WITH HIM!” Jason roars, then adds, quieter, “How could you?”

“He was never meant to replace you, Jason. The same way you were never meant to replace Dick!”

Jason laughs bitterly, “Sure, I wasn’t. That’s why I _dressed_ like him. That’s why I learned to _fight_ like him. You’re so full of shit, Bruce.”

“So your solution was to become a murderer? Because I was _grieving_? Because I accepted someone else into my home?” the more Bruce spoke, the darker the air around him seemed to become.

“Because you failed me,” Bruce opened his mouth to speak again, but Jason cut him off, “Not because you failed to save me. Because you failed to _avenge_ me.”

“That would have made me the same as my enemies. I _will not_ be an executioner.”

“You and your stupid fucking rule. I thought I meant something to you. I thought I was _your son_ ,” the last two words come out harder than he thought they would, and he was enraged with himself at that. He’s not anyone’s son, not anymore.

“You _are_ my son! I lo—“

“ ** _Don’t_**. You never loved me. You’ve only ever loved the mission,” Jason scoffs, “well, fuck the mission. I do a much better job cleaning up this city than you do. Some people just deserve to die.”

“Tim didn’t deserve to die. He is— He was a child and you murdered him in cold blood,” Bruce’s voice is shaking with anger. He doesn’t deserve to be angry. Not after everything.

“I consider him a _necessary_ casualty,” Jason states evenly.

“Then you’re no better than the Joker,” Batman spits.

The words are a devastating blow, but the Red Hood barely flinches as he draws his gun, pressing the barrel right between Bruce’s eyes which go wide at the contact. He’s surprised, _good_. But he shouldn’t be. He should know exactly what he’s created. The Joker’s voice rings in his mind as he flicks off the safety.

_This is going to_ **_hurt you_ ** _more than it does_ **_me_ ** _!_

“Wait. You don’t want to—“

Jason pulls the trigger.

**_HahahahahahahHAHAHAHA!_ **

The World’s Greatest Detective collapses on top of his dead Robin, eyes still blown wide, mouth still slightly agape. It’s almost amusing what’s become of the Dynamic Duo. Both orphans, both dead. The Joker would have laughed at that, but Jason Todd doesn’t. Because he’s not like him. He’s _not_.

Jason’s chest doesn’t fill with pride this time. He feels nothing. He just rid Gotham of its _real_ enemy: The Batman. And yet he feels nothing.

He lowers the gun, finally, and cradles it in his hands. Rain continues to fall around him and a warped version of his face appears in a puddle at his feet, tainted with blood.

He wonders who’s next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed... well uh enjoyed as much as you could XD
> 
> PS: If you're confused about the suicidal thoughts and implied/referenced suicide tags, I did that just to be safe because I referenced those things a bit at the beginning and the very end.


End file.
